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This interview is music to my ears. This guy doesn't BS at all about the organization and tells it like it is. There is no doubt he is the right man for the job and knows what needs to be done. The only question that remains at this point is if Angelos is going to let him do it or not.

TuckerBlair89 wrote:I can totally see why he was not liked in Boston by the media.

Why would the media not like a GM who actually tells the truth instead of not giving straight answers? I know they didn't use to like him but so far in Baltimore he seems alright.

Well I would assume that in Boston they did not want to hear the truth and that they would rather him say that he was going to make everything great (which I can understand at the time he was there).Here, he simply HAS to tell the truth to garner any respect. In Baltimore he has a good chance to show his skills (if Angelos allows it). I hope he is successful, because we need some form of a rebound

I didn't hear or read any transcripts from the interview. But from bits and pieces I have read elsewhere he was highly critical of our drafts over the past ten years, pointing out that Wieters was the "only hit" for the organization. I thought that was a little misleading when you consider the likes of Markakis, Britton, Machado and Schoop to name just four. I'm sure I missed a few others like Jim Johnson. But anyways I do get his drift. Things need to improve dramatically and that only comes with more spending, better scouting and a tighter organizational philosophy from top to bottom

birdwatcher55 wrote:I didn't hear or read any transcripts from the interview. But from bits and pieces I have read elsewhere he was highly critical of our drafts over the past ten years, pointing out that Wieters was the "only hit" for the organization. I thought that was a little misleading when you consider the likes of Markakis, Britton, Machado and Schoop to name just four. I'm sure I missed a few others like Jim Johnson. But anyways I do get his drift. Things need to improve dramatically and that only comes with more spending, better scouting and a tighter organizational philosophy from top to bottom

I listened to the interview and he was referring to first round picks. I immediately thought of Markakis too, but he has a point. Look at the record.

1999 Mike Paradis - no longer in baseball1999 Rich Stahl - no longer in baseball 1999 Larry Bigbie - after a very short ML career he's no longer in baseball 1999 Keith Reed - no longer in baseball 1999 Josh Cenate - no longer in baseball 1999 Scott Rice - no longer in baseball 2000 Beau Hale - no longer in baseball 2000 Tripper Johnson - no longer in baseball 2001 Chris Smith - no longer in baseball 2001 Mike Fontenot - has never risen above a reserve 2001 Bryan Bass - no longer in baseball 2002 Adam Loewen - lost his pitching arm to an injury 2004 Wade Townsend - did not sign2005 Brandon Snyder - his ceiling is probably as a reserve2006 Billy Rowell - @$%^@*(&^#@!!!!2008 Brian Matusz - the talent is there but he needs to develop a whole more of "want to"2009 Matthew Hobgood - he still might become a ML regular but Leake or Minor would be pitching on our staff NOW

The trouble started with the 1999 draft when we had seven picks between selections 13 and 50 which resulted in just ONE MLB regular, Brian Roberts. Of course, the reason we had all of those choices was the exodus of a flood of talent in free agency. A loss that you could argue this team has NEVER recovered from.

Our 2000 draft did not produce a MLB regular and our return from the 2001 draft was Jim Johnson. The 2002 draft produced a trio of Orioles' legends: Adam Loewen, Hayden Penn, and Brandon Fahey. Things improved a bit in 2003 with Nick Markakis and Chris Ray but 2004's only contribution was Brad Bergesen. 2005 resulted in Nolan Reimold and David Hernandez (traded for Mark Reynolds) along with a group of players still in the farm system but no longer considered top level prospects. 2006 produced Zach Britton, Jason Berken, Ryan Adams, and Blake Davis but Andy MacPhail lost Pedro Beato in the Rule 5 draft.

Finally, in 2007 we started seeing impact players like Matt Weiters and Jake Arrieta being drafted as well as legitimate prospect Joe Mahoney and the quality and quantity of talent has improved since then.

For as high as we have drafted since 1999 you need to see most of those players contributing at the ML level and about half of them becoming regulars. Look at the good teams. You will see their rosters filled with players drafted between 2001 and 2008. Combine our draft failures with a VERY limited presence in the international market and Mr. Duquette doesn't have a lot to work with.

birdwatcher55 wrote:I didn't hear or read any transcripts from the interview. But from bits and pieces I have read elsewhere he was highly critical of our drafts over the past ten years, pointing out that Wieters was the "only hit" for the organization. I thought that was a little misleading when you consider the likes of Markakis, Britton, Machado and Schoop to name just four. I'm sure I missed a few others like Jim Johnson. But anyways I do get his drift. Things need to improve dramatically and that only comes with more spending, better scouting and a tighter organizational philosophy from top to bottom

He was referring to the selections in the top 10. Markakis has been good but hasn't been the great player everyone once hoped for. Britton was not a first round selection, Machado only has 1 year in the minors so it's to early to tell, and Schoop was not drafted.

Duquette said in the interview he's not interested in signing an aging Dominican DH and would much rather put that money towards signing Dominican amateurs.

Also, Duquette never signed him to the Red Sox so it's not like they have a history together.

The only Ortiz rumor has come from Jen Royle who has done nothing to prove she is a reliable source at all. To act like just because she claims it to be true is 100% true is ridiculous. No need to "put the hopes back on the shelf" just because of one persons opinion.

Matt P wrote:Duquette said in the interview he's not interested in signing an aging Dominican DH and would much rather put that money towards signing Dominican amateurs.

Now, if the team would only spend HALF of what they would pay Ortiz on international talent in the next twelve months I would feel MUCH more optimistic about this organization's future.

I feel the same. He said he would rather sign a bunch of amateur prospects than spend a lot of money on an aging DH. Until he does something different than what he claimed he would I will believe everything he says. I'm not going to abandon ship because someone with no credibility claims something.

birdwatcher55 wrote:I didn't hear or read any transcripts from the interview. But from bits and pieces I have read elsewhere he was highly critical of our drafts over the past ten years, pointing out that Wieters was the "only hit" for the organization. I thought that was a little misleading when you consider the likes of Markakis, Britton, Machado and Schoop to name just four. I'm sure I missed a few others like Jim Johnson. But anyways I do get his drift. Things need to improve dramatically and that only comes with more spending, better scouting and a tighter organizational philosophy from top to bottom

I listened to the interview and he was referring to first round picks. I immediately thought of Markakis too, but he has a point. Look at the record. ...

Nice breakdown...I was wondering who he was referring to as well and where Kakes fit in. That's some list right there!